Cecil Espy
| Cecil Espy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:October 20, 1962 San Diego, California,U.S. | |
Batted:Switch Threw:Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 2, 1983, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 13, 1993, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .244 |
| Home runs | 7 |
| Runs batted in | 108 |
| Teams | |
Cecil Edward Espy(born January 20, 1963) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played inMajor League Baseballfor theLos Angeles Dodgers,Texas Rangers,Pittsburgh Pirates,andCincinnati Redsin 1983 and 1987-1993.
Career
[edit]Espy was a first-round pick of theChicago White Soxin the1980 Major League Baseball draft,the eighth player chosen, ahead of such other first-round picks asKelly Gruber(10th overall),Terry Francona(22nd overall) andBilly Beane(23rd overall). He was traded in the spring of 1982 along with Bert Geiger to theLos Angeles Dodgersfor outfielderRudy Law.[1][2]
Making his big-league debut at age 20 on September 2, 1983, with the Dodgers as a late-season call-up, Espy appeared in 11 games. He then had to wait until 1987 to return to the majors.[3]
On August 31st, 1985, thePittsburgh Piratestraded disgruntled veteran infielderBill Madlockto theLos Angeles Dodgersfor threeplayer(s)-to-be-named-later.[4][5]The first PTBNL was Utility manR.J. Reynolds,who was sent from LA to Pittsburgh on September 3rd. Nearly a week later on September 9th, Espy was sent to Pittsburgh alongsideSid Breamas the last two PTBNL's.[5][6]
Before Espy got a chance to play in the Major Leagues with Pittsburgh, he was selected by theTexas Rangersin the 1986Rule 5 Draft.[2][3]He played in 14 games in 1987, but did not record a hit.[4]In 1988, he saw much more action on the field, getting into 123 games.[3]He slashed.248/.288/.349 and swiped 33 bags. He finished the season with an 8th-place finish in the ALRookie of the Yearvoting.[3]His 1989 season with Texas was arguably the best of his career, where he slashed.257/.313/.331 while stealing a career-high 45 bases (while also getting caught a league-leading 20 times).[3]Espy was grantedfree agencyafter a poor 1990 campaign.[2][3]
He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he played 43 & 112 games in 1991 & 1992, respectively.[3]ManagerJim Leylandliked using Espy as a role player who could come off the bench whenever he was needed, whether that be as apinch hitter,pinch runner,or a defensive replacement.[7]Pittsburgh placed him on unconditional release waivers after the 1992 season, where he was claimed by theCincinnati Reds.[2][8]
He played in 40 games before being released by the Reds in 1993.[3][2]
In 546 games over eight seasons, Espy posted a.244batting average(304-for-1248) with 160runs,7home runs,108RBIand 103stolen bases.He recorded a.976fielding percentageas an outfielder.[3][9]
References
[edit]- ^Dodgers, Chisox trade
- ^abcde"Cecil Espy Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac".baseball-almanac.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
- ^abcdefghi"Cecil Espy Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
- ^ab"Bill Madlock Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
- ^ab"The Pirates trade former batting champion Bill Madlock to the Dodgers for prospects R.J. Reynolds, Cecil Espy, and Sid Bream. - This Day In Baseball".August 31, 1985.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
- ^"R.J. Reynolds Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".Baseball-Reference.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
- ^Peterson, Richard; Peterson, Stephen (2017).The Slide: Leyland, Bonds & The Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates.University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 132.ISBN978-0-8229-6444-5.
- ^"Pirates trade Lind, release four others".Tampa Bay Times.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
- ^"Cecil Espy Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News".MLB.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
- Baseball Almanac
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- 1963 births
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